Multiple Users

[Ruth]

I have a database which is used by at least 3 members of staff. They want me
to look into improving the database because they keep getting messages
preventing them from accessing and editing the database at the same time.

The most annoying is when someone is making changes to the database and
someone else tries to get on to look something up, but they get the message
"The database has been placed in a state by user 'Admin' on machine 'PC11'
that prevents it from being opened or locked." Really frustrating if you
have a customer waiting for you to look something up for them and the other
user is in the middle of something.

Is there anyway that you could have a read only mode so that we could look
up whilst someone is editing?

I've tried to look into this and have come across splitting databases and
having Front Ends and Back Ends, but to be honest its all a bit beyond me and
sounds very complicated. A simple remedy, if there is one, would be most
welcome.

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

Splitting the database is a must. Don't worry: it's very simple.

There's a built-in wizard that will split for you, but most developers just
do it on their own. Tony Toews has an explanation, with some good links, at
http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/splitapp/overview.htm

 

[Ruth]

Thanks Douglas.

So if I split the database will this solve my problem?

I read somewhere that it may slow down performance. Is this true and are
there any other implications I should be aware of before I think about
splitting it?

 

[Douglas J. Steele]

Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that it will definitely solve the
problem, but realistically there's little point trying to track down the
cause of the problem until you've done that necessary step. If the problem
is caused by people making changes to application objects (forms, code,
etc), splitting should eliminate that issue.

It's possible that performance may degrade slightly, but assuming that you
give each user his/her own copy of the front-end on his/her hard drive, you
shouldn't have a problem. Right now, presumably everyone's connecting to a
copy of the database on the server. That means that all application objects
have to be pulled across the wire, which is slow. You might read what Tony
has at http://www.granite.ab.ca/access/splitapp/performance.htm

 

[Ruth]

Thanks for your help, I shall try and do a test run to see how it goes.